Written In the Stars
by Tari Sirfalas
Summary: Oneshot: When Sheen and Carl go missing at the county fair, Betty helps Jimmy look for them. When a mysterious fortune teller prophetizes a great challenge in her life, Betty wonders what this has to do with Jimmy.


**Ok, so a friend of mine was talking about the lack of good quality J/B fanfics or even bad quality J/B fanfics. They're simply not written! So I decided to help her out by adding one more story to the admittedly small pile. I'm not personally a J/B fan, but I think I did a fair job. But, you guys are the real judges. Tell me what you think! ^_^**

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Written In the Stars

She was peering through the window, counting the cars that went by, wondering if what the fortune teller had said was true. It had been a week since the county fair, but she just couldn't stop thinking about it.

They hadn't even gone together. She had bumped into him near the cotton candy machine. Apparently, he had lost sight of Sheen and Carl in the house of mirrors and was searching for them around the food carts. Probably a good start.

"Have you seen them?" he asked.

"Nope, sorry Jimmy," she replied sympathetically. "but I'll help you look for 'em."

"Really? Thanks, Betty!"

After they searched the food carts they looked through the games and the rides and even waited in line to get to the top of the Ferris wheel to see if they could see them up there, but to no avail. Just when they were about to check the food carts again, Betty suddenly got a whiff of the smell of incense and jasmine. Curious, she followed the scent to an unassuming tent to the side of the walkway.

"Hey Jimmy!" she called. "Maybe they're in here!" He hastened to the place she stood. He read from the sign posted outside the tent.

"Madame Zuala, certified public fortune teller." We looked at each other, shrugged, and walked inside.

The smell of incense intensified as soon as they walked into the gloomy tent. When their eyes adjusted to the candlelight, they saw a small table covered in blue tapestry standing in the middle of the room. A large crystal ball sat majestically on the table, glowing of its own accord.

Jimmy seemed to be very nervous. "Well, doesn't look like they're here. Let's go!" he declared quickly, backing up to the tent flap.

"Hold on, Jimmy," she said. "Maybe she can help us find them. She is a fortune teller after all."

"Ok," he agreed dejectedly. "I guess we can try."

Suddenly, a figure parted the beaded curtain leading to another part of the large tent. For a fortune teller, Madame Zuala looked quite young. She looked no older than twenty. Fixing her hair as she went, she approached the little table.

"Come, come, come. Gather 'round the crystal and Madame Zuala will peer into your fogy futures," she orated, sitting down in the spindly chair behind the table. Jimmy and Betty exchanged glances and sat down on equally rickety chairs on Madame Zuala's opposite side.

"Is that your real name?" Jimmy asked suspiciously.

The fortune teller blinked and suddenly abandoned her mystical persona. "Well," she told him. "Zuala is actually my middle name. My first name is Stacy, but who wants to have their fortunes read by 'Madame Stacy'?" She cleared her throat and resumed her act as before.

"Now then, my children, hush. Let Madame Zuala consult her crystal ball."

"Um, actually, we came to see if you know where—" Jimmy started to explain.

"Shh…"she interrupted. "You are disturbing the spirits." She placed her long, manicured fingers on the crystal ball lovingly and gazed wide-eyed into its depths. At the touch of her fingers, the glowing ball changed colors, turning from an innocent white to a gaudy shade of pink.

"Ah yes, yes, I see it. It's—"

Suddenly, the fortune teller's body stiffened and her eyes snapped shut. Betty held out a hand in a gesture of aid.

"Are…are you ok?" she asked. "Madame Zuala...Stacy?"

Finally, the young woman's eyes opened, but they were not the same. Instead of the muddy brown from before, they were completely white, no pupil at all. She turned her head to face Jimmy, who was staring at her eyes in shock.

"Sleep," she commanded him simply. At once, Jimmy's head sunk down to his chest and he started breathing slowly and rhythmically, as though in a deep sleep. Betty, in the meantime, could only stare, her mouth hung open numbly. When she gathered her thoughts, she quickly shut it. She looked fearfully at the possessed woman, fearing that she would make her slumber as well. Heaven only knows what she would do to them then!

"Listen to me!" Madame Zuala spoke, turning her lidless gaze to Betty. "You must heed this warning! Soon, you will be faced with a difficult challenge, a cross road of destiny, and it will concern this boy. Remember, young one, that the battle can be won in retreat."

Before Betty had a chance to respond, the fortune teller twitched and her eyes changed back to normal. She resumed looking into the crystal ball as if nothing had happened. Betty glanced over and gasped when she saw Jimmy wide awake, apparently unaware that he had just been asleep.

"Look, lady," he told the fortune teller. "We just want to know where my friends are."

"The chubby one and the hyper one are on the carousel," she answered immediately. She shot him a look. "Madame Zuala was about to tell you, but someone in here is very impatient."

"Oh, um…" he stammered embarrassedly. "Let's go, Betty." She got slowly out her chair, still dazed by the events she had just witnessed. Madame Zuala gave her no hint of recognition to the episode. She only gave her a warm smile and thanked her for coming. Confused, and a little disappointed, she followed Jimmy out of the tent.

Carl and Sheen were right where the fortune teller said. Jimmy thanked Betty for helping him and walked away with his friends towards the fair exit.

A week later, she sat by the window, still turning it over in her head. What did she mean by "the battle is won in retreat?" What was she supposed to be retreating from?

The next day, Jimmy did a magic show in school and before she knew it, they were all in some 3D graphic dimension and Jimmy and Cindy were arguing. As she watched them fight, she pondered on the reason behind Cindy's aggression towards Jimmy. It seemed to stream from herself. She looked at Jimmy. The anger and fear were evident on his face.

"_I wish I knew how to stop the fighting. Jimmy doesn't deserve this kind of treatment, but if they don't fight they'll start liking each other." _Suddenly, the fortune teller's words came back to her. _"Retreat…"_

"Time out!" she shouted suddenly, standing between the two. "Cindy, it's time we had a little chat." She led the other girl to a corner of the graphic room and gave her was she hoped was a convincing retreat.

"He's all yours," she said, although it twisted her heart to say. _"There," _she thought. _"I'm retreating. I hope you're right, Zuala."_

It was years before she thought about the warning again. It was junior year. The promise of a long summer lingered in the air. Walking through the hallway, Betty passed Jimmy going the other way, his arms full of books and test tubes. She then noticed Cindy, walking a few students behind him. She didn't seem to notice him, or even be bothered by the fact that he was walking too slow for normal hallway traffic.

Betty remembered the old days of elementary school when Jimmy and Cindy were always competing, but ever since Betty's retreat, that slowly started to change. At first it seemed as though the two of them would end up together someday. They stopped fighting in class. There were rumors about a kiss in the ally. Then, towards the end of middle school, something happened. They didn't necessarily break up. Jimmy continued with his love of science and Cindy discovered her inner poet. In the midst of their self-discovery, they drifted apart. Now, in the chaos of high school, no one would have ever guessed that they were once mortal enemies. All this happened because of a simple chat.

"The battle is won in retreat," Betty whispered to herself as she sat in her desk. A smile spread across her face. Today after school, she was going to ask Jimmy to a milkshake at the old CandyBar. It was time for the retreat to turn around and charge. Betty didn't need a fortune teller to see that. Boy, was victory sweet.


End file.
